Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Bike-a-Thon Sunday, September 26th at 1 pm

Join with friends to bike Chicago's beautiful lakefront and raise funds to support people-to-people projects in Latin America!  Choose between 12 and 24 mile loops, starting on both the north and south sides.  Bikers with $50 or more in pledges receive free Pedal for Peace t-shirts!

Registration fees are $10 for student/senior/low-income, $20 for individuals, and children 12 and under are free.  For more information, download the attachements at the bottom of this web article:  a Pedal for Peace poster, an info and pledge form, and a map of the bike route.  Gather at 1 pm at either the Waveland Clock Tower at Lake Shore Drive and Addison on the northside or at the Dog Water Station at 55th Street and the lake on the southside. 

For more information, contact us at 773-293-2964 or shunter-smith@crln.org 

Pedal for Peace Sponsoring Organizations:

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Founded 20 years ago, CRLN is an interfaith education, action and advocacy network that equips and mobilizes religious leaders and congregations to advance peace, justice and human rights in our hemisphere.  Through speakers, workshops,membership updates, advocacy action initiatives, delegations to Latin America, and meetings with U.S. policy-makers, CRLN engages religious communities and leaders to speak out for just U.S. policies.  Contact person: Jim Vondracek, jvondracek@crln.org, www.crln.org 

Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities 

Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities is a community to community-based solidarity organization that was founded in 1992. It is a local chapter of US-El Salvador Sister Cities--a national, grassroots organization of U.S. citizens and residents who have formed ongoing partnerships with rural communities in El Salvador struggling for social justice.  CCSC's portion of 2010's Pedal for Peace funds will benefit Cinquera's youth, who will receive training in violence prevention, safe health practices, and organizing their fellow youth.  Run by ARDM, the community reconstruction and development organization with whom CCSC partners, trainings will incorporate local music, theater, and dance traditions. Contact person: Sheila Brady, sab88882003@yahoo.com www.chicago-cinquera.org

Chicago Presbytery "Congregations in Solidarity with Latin America" Mission Team (CSLA) 

A ministry of the Chicago Presbytery, CSLA supports the travel and legal expenses incurred in the land rights struggle of 32 displaced families, mostly Afro-Colombians, who recently returned to their land in San Onofre, Sucre, and 8 displaced families secure new land in Piojó, Atlántico.  Funds raised will also go for egg-laying hens for elderly displaced people in Chigorodó, Urabá, a region in Colombia that has experienced massive displacement over the last 15 years.  Contactperson:  EranWade, eranwade@gmail.com

Chicago-Guatemala Partnership

Formed in 1999 by members of University Church (United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ) in Hyde Park, our group includes active members from other faith communities and those with no religious affiliation.  We have partnerships with Accion Cultural Guatemalteca, a Mayan community organizing and development agency, and with the rural Mayan communityof Saq Ja', a village destroyed during the Guatemalan civil conflict and still in the process of rebuilding.  Our portion of Pedal for Peace funds will benefit Saq Ja's bilingual (K'iche andSpanish) middle school (grades 7-9), which provides education taught by teachers from the community and which respects Mayan culture beyond government-supported primary school.  Contact person:  Mary Naftzger, maryandbob.n@sbcglobal.net

La Voz de los de Abajo

La Voz de los de Abajo is a Chicago community based organization working in solidarity Latin America, particularly Honduras, and in the migrant community in the U.S.  Active in Honduras since Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc, the group has partnered with rural campesino, indigenous and Afro-descended communities and urbanunion groups to address issues of social inequality and injustice. LaVoz de los de Abajo will direct its portion of Pedal for Peace contributions to medical and humanitarian aid to campesino and indigenous groups under siege by the Honduran National Army for their efforts to actualize land reform passed by the democratically elected President Zelaya, who was ousted in a coup in 2009.  Contact: Vicki Cervantes, vickicervantes@yahoo.com, http://lavozchicago.blogspot.com/

Concern America

Concern America is an international development and refugee aid organization that provides long-term, community-based development and support to economically impoverished communities throughout the world.  What distinguishes the work of Concern America is the belief that the transformation of impoverished communities comes from engaging local members in the solutions to their problems. Concern America's portion of Pedal for Peace funds will benefit Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in Colombia's northwest conflict zone through helping cover the cost of community visits by Concern America's field staff and advanced health promotion practitioners.  This provides one-on-one training for newer health promoters, visits with leaders and supports organizing efforts around health.  Contact person:  John Straw, jstraw_concern@earthlink.net,  www.concernamerica.org